Conventional fire trucks may include an interior water tank which contains a supply of water that is used to extinguish a fire during a firefighting operation. A discharge coupling which is provided on the exterior of the truck may communicate with the water tank through a pump. A dump chute outlet which is typically provided on the rear of the truck may separately communicate with the water tank. Prior to the firefighting operation, water may be pumped from an available source of water into the tank through the intake coupling or through a separate inlet coupling on the truck. During the firefighting operation, water may be pumped from the water tank through the discharge coupling and through a fire hose coupled to the discharge coupling to extinguish the fire. During the firefighting operation, water which is in the water tank may be dumped by gravity feed from the water tank through a dump chute which is coupled to the dump chute outlet into a portable tank for additional water supply for firefighting operations.
A conventional method of filling the water tank of the fire truck with water includes coupling one end of a hose to the intake coupling on the truck and placing the other end of the hose in fluid communication with a fire hydrant, or the discharge coupling of a fire truck that is drafting from a pond or other available water source. Water is drafted from the water source and through the hose and then discharged to the inlet coupling, respectively, into the water tank either under positive pressure of the water (in the event that the water source is a fire hydrant) or under operation of the pump. However, due to the relatively small opening size of the intake coupling on the fire truck, valuable time may be expended in filling the water tank with water since the volume of water which can flow through the coupling into the water tank per unit time is restricted.
Therefore, a dump chute adaptor which facilitates rapid filling of a water tank in a fire truck with water through a dump chute and a method of filling a water tank in a fire truck through a dump chute are needed.